The average cost of a data breach rose to $4.5 million in 2023 and for the healthcare industry, that figure was more than double.¹ The financial and insurance services industries are not far behind and experienced almost three times the number of data breaches as compared to healthcare. Almost 95 percent of the breaches are financially motivated with organized crime behind 70 percent of them.²

These costs do not include regulatory penalties or litigation and altogether they can be devastating to a company’s bottom line. A recent survey of 5,000 U.S. and European businesses found that nearly one-fifth believed their company could not survive a cyber attack.³

Along with a record growth in data breaches, a remarkable uptick has occurred in the number of data privacy and data security state legislation introduced in recent years, and the momentum continues to build. In the absence of a federal data privacy act with preemption, businesses need to agilely adapt to this patchwork of federal and state laws and regulations. Now, more than ever, compliance is a must.

Our Data Privacy and Security team of attorneys is ready to assist with key legal services:

• Defense litigation
• Data breach notification
• Cybersecurity compliance and litigation risk assessments
• Developing cyber compliance management systems
• Compliance testing

For more information, contact:

• Donald Maurice
• Eric Rosenkoetter
• Brent Yarborough

For further information on federal and state data privacy and security laws, visit our resources for Data Privacy and Security.

[1] Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, IBM [2] 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon [3] Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2023